Olive the Other Reindeer
by sunnywinterclouds
Summary: Short little Holiday special starring the Bishop family and Olivia. T for language and sexual references.


**So... I have a lot of convos saved with my dead-to-me friend Frinja, and I accidentally clicked one, and I found her suggestion about Olive the Other Reindeer as a FanFiction. Dunno if it was meant to be taken **_**seriously**_** but... here I am!**

**This is a random, slightly angsty-slightly fluffy piece that I made after overcoming my writer's block! yaay!  
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**Disclaimer: I own neither Fringe nor Olive The Other Reindeer. Don't make me depress myself.**

**Enjoy, review, and have a very merry Christmas!**

Christmas.

The most commercial event of the year there was, right next to Valentines Day on the top of her list. An excuse for excessive shopping, a million advertisement on great deals that really weren't that great at all, and a few parades in which the children got candy and presents. And then there was Christmas day, when the deluded little children counted the seconds until another stupid morning in history and their parents fanned on the flames of deception by taking little bites of the cookies that had been left out for Santa.

Olivia Dunham did not like Christmas.

It was hardly a holiday, anyway - she was not a religious woman, and therefore did not have any interest in taking part in this crazy date in history that had somehow lost any meaning that it may have once had.

There was no point in celebrating. So she didn't.

Most Christmases she would lock herself up in her apartment, politely declining her sister's invitation to spend the holiday with her, get out the most expensive liquor in her cabinet, and drink until she forgot about any case that she might be working on at the time. She'd wrap herself up in a blanket and watch old movies, some of them cartoons and some black and white. She gave no presents (with Ella being the exception), she got no presents, she treated the day like some sort of gloomy anniversary of a loved one's death.

But the minute Walter walked into the lab with an absolutely _jolly_ smile plastered onto his face, a slightly annoyed Peter following in an elf hat with a large box of Christmas supplies, she knew this year was going to be different.

She was already aware of Walter's insane love of the holidays - every year he would dress up as Santa and give each of them a gift, forcing Peter to decorate the lab with festive lights and little statues of reindeers - but Olivia was a hundred percent positive that she was about to be talked into spending the day with the both of them at the Bishop house.

She'd been able to _barely_ wiggle her way out of it the three previous times the old scientist had invited her over for the occasion, but now that her and Peter were a couple, her basically father-in-law wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Agent Dunham, dear! We were just about to start decorating! Would you like to help?"

Peter gave her a pleading look behind his father - it was a tedious, _boring_ task that he would like to have lucid company while doing. Especially if it was _her_ company.

She couldn't say no to that face.

"Sure, Walter."

She took the box from her boyfriend's hands, giving him a sympathetic smile as she lay it down on the table and started to rifle through it.

"Excellent! I'm going to go bake some cookies - your mother used to have a_ marvelous _recipe for sugar cookies, if only I could remember..."

He stumbled off, muttering something about vanilla and mint, and Peter laughed heartily.

"He _loves_ Christmas. You're coming over, right? He's been working on your present all week."

There it was. The invitation that she couldn't refuse.

"Of course. I don't have anything for him - do you think he'll mind?"

"Walter? No. I, on the other hand, am very much looking forward to whatever you might have planned for me and will be _very_ disappointed if I found out you neglected to get me something special for the occasion."

His voice had enough of his seductive charm for her to laugh and throw her arms around his neck.

"Don't worry, Peter, you made the nice list."

"Really? Because I think you'd agree that I've been _incredibly_ naughty this year..."

She slapped him on the arm, but the ridiculous grin stayed on her face as he stole a quick kiss from her and got to work on lights.

He'd returned just in time for Christmas.

After months of unbearable, agonizing, _excruciating _suspense and confusion, Peter had reappeared mere feet from where he'd evaporated weeks prior. He'd managed to get something out about the future and alternate timelines before he collapsed and was taken to the hospital.

Olivia had been torn between clawing his eyes out in anger and permanently sealing his lips to hers, but had settled for hugging him and not letting go until morning.

That was the 21st, and before that she had seriously believed that she was going to spend another Christmas alone and miserable. That he was never going to come back and she wouldn't even have some happy memories of a snowy holiday spent with the man she loved and his father.

But Peter had never really been one to let her down, and he had ended all the torture by being here _with her._

"Come over tonight, okay? We're doing a little Christmas Eve celebration, and we can start the day early if you spend the night. Walter's always up at six in the kitchen. We're having this big meal, and he's making a turkey _and_ a ham because I wasn't here for Thanksgiving..."

A permanent smile had etched itself onto her face as she listened to him drone on, his melodic voice filling her to the brim and making her feel happy and warm. It was one of his specialties - no matter how you looked at it, Peter Bishop was unnaturally good at making her day brighter.

A Christmas spent with him was bound to be a good one.

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She brought over some whiskey with her.

It was, after all, _her_ little tradition - maybe they could do the movies, too. She was already smiling at the thought of a night spent cuddling into his warm chest watching pointless tales such as _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,_ which she was almost positive Walter owned.

"Hey! We were starting to think you weren't gonna show up. Walter's been panicking."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss _this_ for the world."

He picked up the gift she'd brought over, holding it up and shaking it next to his ear.

"Peter! Stop that!"

She snatched it from his hands and stuck her tongue out childishly at him as he pouted, struggling with the groceries in her hands.

"Lemme get those. Did you remember the sweet potatoes?"

"How could I forget with you reminding me every other minute?"

"The squash? Cornbread mix?"

"Yes and yes, along with pie crust, pie filling, and some aluminium pie containers. You made me a list, remember?"

"Right. Sorry, Walter's just freaking out. He's making a lot for Christmas dinner. And seven types of pie! Can you believe it? Seven! Key lime, Boston Cream, Pumpkin, Peach, Apple..."

"Peter."

"Yeah?"

"I haven't gotten a hello kiss yet."

He chuckled and put the bags of the counter so he could wrap his strong arms around her, enveloping her in his warmth. She touched her nose to his gently before pulling his lips to hers, playing with his messily perfect hair.

Neither of them noticed the _snap_ of a photo being taken behind them.

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"Is Walter in bed already?"

"Yeah, I think he's resting up so he can rise with the sun tomorrow. It's gonna be a busy day."

"Are we gonna be allowed to sleep in?"

"Oh, definitely. He likes to cook alone as much as he does with help."

She smiled and buried her head into his chest further, completely content with using him as a pillow.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"Maybe."

He started fiddling with her hair absentmindedly.

"I told you starting a fire was a good idea."

Olivia could hear the calming crackling of the fire in front of them as they lay on the couch with on another, which was a thousand times better than watching any movie that currently existed.

"Mmm."

A comfortable silence fell over them, which Olivia broke after about ten minutes.

"So what's on your mind?"

"Huh? Nothing."

"Come on..."

He sighed and started tapping his fingers on her neck, causing a pleased hum to erupt from her throat.

"I'm just wondering why you aren't with Rachel and Ella. I mean, I love having you here, but shouldn't you be with your family?"

She shifted her position and placed her head in his lap, closing her eyes and contemplating how to respond.

"Well, I don't really _do_ Christmas. They invited me every year and I always turn them down."

He frowned slightly.

"Then how come you're doing it with us?"

"Because... it's you. And I really, _really_ missed you."

Peter laughed slightly at that, letting his warm palm rest on her head.

"I missed you, too."

She wanted to fall asleep, right then and there, but he wasn't done yet.

"Why don't you like Christmas?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everybody likes Christmas. I _love_ Christmas. I never believed in Santa when I was a kid, but I remember leaving milk and cookies out because my mom loved doing with me."

She envisioned Peter as a little boy, pretending that he believed in the jolly fat man for the simple reason of pleasing his mother. It wasn't hard to imagine - he'd always been so caring. Thoughtful.

"I don't really have a lot of good memories of it."

He sighed, well-aware of her stepfather and the traumatic past she held. He rolled her over in his lap and looked down at her so that their eyes could meet. His beautiful blue orbs instantly made her heart skip a beat.

"What about before?"

He didn't specify, but she knew what he meant anyway - _before her stepfather._

"I was little. I don't really remember a whole lot. Except..."

The corners of her mouth upturned in a smile, her eyes suddenly shining. Peter grinned.

"See! I knew you had one. Everybody had a good childhood Christmas memory."

"Actually, I was seventeen."

He sighed.

"You couldn't vote, so you were therefore still a child. End of story."

She gave an almost silent _meh_ and reached up for his hand, biting her lip as she moved her stare from his face to their intertwined fingers.

"Well, I was baby sitting this little girl. Sarah. It was Christmas, and there was some bad weather, and her parents weren't there..."

Her brow crinkled up in confusion.

"I don't remember the details, but she was a really sweet kid, and she was so upset that her mom and dad were gonna miss Christmas. She got to open her presents and all, but she really missed them, so I was trying to cheer her up and everything...

"Anyway, she got a book called _Olive the Other Reindeer,_ and I read it to her. She loved it. It cheered her up a lot, so we acted out parts of the book, and she let me be Olive because my name is Olivia."

They were both grinning now, Peter's eyebrows quirked in a playful manner.

"Olivie the Other Reindeer, huh? I think I'll have to hang on to that one. Who knows, you might just have a new nickname!"

She giggled and brought his fingers down to her lips, kissing each one softly before resting them on her stomach and closing her eyes.

"That was the best one I can really remember."

"Except this one?"

More smiles from the both of them.

"Except this one."

She cuddled more into him, and at that moment, she was completely and utterly content.

"Did you get me a present?"

"Of course!"

Olivia almost pouted at him.

"You were supposed to say no so that I could say some cheesy line about having you here being the greatest gift of all."

He laughed.

"'All I Want for Christmas is You?'"

"Precisely."

Peter leaned down to kiss her nose.

"I could say the very same."

She fiddled with his fingers for a while before speaking again.

"It's true, though. I wouldn't have even though about celebrating it weren't with you. I probably wouldn't have even taken the day off."

She could tell he was struggling for words.

"It doesn't matter. Because I'm here, and I love you, and we're going to spend our very first Christmas together. You, me, and Walter. A family."

"A family."

"Mm-hmm."

_A family._

"Merry Christmas, Peter."

**no idea where this came from, nor why I bothered publishing it, but thanks to ari for betaing!**


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